Chamberlain B1381 garage door opener review

The Chamberlain B1381 is ideal if a high-end, modern, bright LED lighting garage door opener is on your radar.

Chamberlain B1381 Review
(Image: © Chamberlain)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

If money is no object then take a look at the Chamberlain 1381 - it's got all the features you need and has rock solid performance.

Pros

  • +

    LED lighting built-in

  • +

    Quality parts, good warranty

  • +

    Battery backup

Cons

  • -

    It's not the cheapest

  • -

    Need extension kit if your door is larger than 7 feet high

  • -

    HomeLink compatibility problems on older vehicles

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This review contains everything you need to know about the Chamberlain B1381 garage door opener. We've researched the latest garage door openers, verified and examined thousands of industry-leading specs, features and user reviews to find the best garage door openers out there.

Chamberlain B1381: Key specs

Dimensions: 26.75" x 13.38" x 8.06", rail length 7ft
Weight:
36 lbs
Type: Belt drive
Motor horsepower: 1 1/4
Battery backup: Yes
Remote controls: 2 included
Warranty: Lifetime motor, Lifetime drive, 5 year parts, 1 year accessory

The Chamberlain B1381 is a garage door opener that can be controlled remotely. Apart from the impressive LED lighting with an output of 3,100 lumens that promises complete illumination of your garage, it also comes with a lifetime warranty on the motor, a built-in Wi-Fi which connects the unit to a myQ app on your smartphone. Another bonus is that it is incorporated with a battery backup that comes in handy in the event of a power failure.

The installation kit includes a solid installation rail, wall control, two remote controls with triband technology, wireless panel and sensors. Although the belt drive size may vary and for garage doors over 7 feet in height an extension kit may be required, the Chamberlain B1381 still serves as a sturdy and stylish door opener.

The Chamberlain B1381 is the Rolls Royce of garage door openers. With the B1381 you get all the features of the popular Chamberlain B970 but with a couple of nice extras rolled into one great garage door opener that looks stylish and modern. 

There's everything you'd expect to find in the box, including an installation rail, wall control 2 remotes with triband technology, wireless panel and sensors.

What really sets the Chamberlain B1381 apart is its impressive LED light that illuminates your whole garage, with an output of 3,100 lumens. Chamberlain describes it as "corner to corner lighting". 

Chamberlain B1381: Features

The B1381 is a belt-drive model, and has a powerful 1 1/4 hp motor, which is the main function of the unit, but in terms of what sets it apart from other garage door openers, the standout feature of the B1381 is its LED lighting. Whereas the Chamberlain B970 uses bulbs in its light, the B1381 uses LED and is much brighter at 3,100 lumens. LEDs last much longer than bulbs, lasting 30,000 hours, which is basically the life of the whole unit.

(Image credit: Image source: Home Depot)

The two other stand out features are the built-in Wi-Fi, which connects the unit to a MyQ app on your phone for remote operation, and checking that your garage door is actually shut from anywhere in the world, and the built-in battery backup. With the battery backup you can be sure that you'll still be able to access your property in the case of a power cut.

In terms of security the Chamberlain B1381 is right up there. It has Chamberlain's security+ 2.0 which is a 100 billion code encryption, paired with your home's ISP and Wi-Fi router firewalls guard against hacking. It's also got Posi-lock anti-theft protection, which stops attempts at forced entry and ensures that once the door closes, it stays locked.

Chamberlain B1381: Performance

It's really worth emphasizing how quiet the belt drives in the Chamberlain line can be and the B1381 is no exception. If you're worried about waking sleeping kids up as you carry them out of the car to bed, or waking up the neighbors then don't - the B1381 is super quiet in operation. And thanks to the powerful 1 1/4 horsepower motor, your garage door will be super smooth as it lifts and closes.

You don't need to worry about the belt drive wearing out either, as it's long-lasting, and Chamberlain offers a lifetime warranty on the motor and the belt drive.

Chamberlain B1381: Price

As you'd expect, the Chamberlain B1381 is at the top end of the market when it comes to price, which matches its impressive feature set.

The Home Depot website lists it at $302.39, which is around $50 more than the Chamberlain B970.

Chamberlain B1381: User reviews

Customer reviews for the Chamberlain B1381 are glowing. It has a rating of 4.8 stars out of 5 on Home Depot and a 92% recommendation rating. People love how quiet the drive is and the LED light is a real bonus. It's very bright and people are impressed with that.

The only negatives we found were the lack of connection with Amazon Alexa and the beeping noise it makes when the backup battery needs to be replaced was far too loud, so loud in fact that it woke up the whole house! Still, better safe than sorry.

Bear in mind that if your garage door is over 7 feet in height then you'll have to purchase an extension kit. This seems to have caught some customers out.

Should you buy the Chamberlain B1381 garage door opener?

If you can afford it then, yes. The Chamberlain B1381 has all the features of the B970 but the motor is in a better looking case that incorporates an insanely bright LED light that will illuminate your garage completely.

We still gave the Chamberlain B970 our best buy title because of its price, but the Chamberlain 1381 has already dropped in price since its release and as it gets cheaper the reasons not to buy it simply melt away.

If this product isn't for you

The Genie Chain Drive 500 garage door opener is a budget-friendly, secure and reliable chain drive garage door opener that offers value and quiet performance with minimal maintenance. It also includes an intelligent rolling code technology that prevents trespassers from opening your garage door by automatically changing the access code every time you use it.

Made with a robust engine, innovative wireless features and built-in Wi-fi, the Chamberlain B970 has a one-year warranty and can effortlessly handle common home issues.

Graham Barlow

Graham usually works in home computer journalism for his day job, and has been at Future Plc for many years, mostly employed across our print titles. He has a keen interest in all things gardening, and has written extensively about lawn mowers and other garden care products while in his freelance capacity at Top Ten Reviews.

With contributions from